Watcher, until the next is called
by astarte-lydianna
Summary: Buffy passes the test that is her 18th birthday only to be told Giles is fired and a new watcher will be sent to bond with her. Buffy and Giles vs the Council and the hellmouth as they fight to keep each other. The ritual bond they make may mean their relationship changes for better for worse until the next slayer and watcher are called.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Notes: So I've started yet another one. I have the next chapter for final reward is being updating too so I haven't abandoned any of the unfinished ones...just full of lots of scenes that I want to get out and can't stop starting new stories. I've also started sharing these on LJ under the user name astartelydianna and will be taking part in this year's drunken Giles event. If there are any of you B/G fans out there that are feeling a little lonely and want to keep up with some other shippers come add me. So back to the story, basically seasons 1 and 2 are canon but I decide to change a load of stuff from season 3 onwards.

Disclaimer: I don't own BtVS nor any of the characters or places or anything else recognisable etc. and I make no money from this blah blah blah. For example there are a couple of lines right at the start that are right out of the episode so that you know where I'm starting from but after that I wander off on my own merry little plotline mostly.

Part One

"She passed, you didn't." Travers commented. "The slayer is not the only one who must perform in this situation. I have recommended to the council and they have agreed, that you be relieved of your duties as watcher immediately. You're fired."

Both slayer and watcher looked at him in surprise.

"On what grounds?" he asked.

"Your affection for your charge has rendered your incapable of clear and impartial judgment." the older man told him. He frowned; affection hadn't always been something the council had scorned, so he was curious why it would matter now. "You have a father's love for the child and that is useless to the cause." It was that last comment that made him realise exactly why they had a problem with his affections. "It would be best if you have no further contact with the slayer-"

"I'm not going anywhere." he interrupted.

"No well, I didn't expect you would adhere to that." Travers conceded. "However if you interfere with the new watcher or countermand his authority in anyway, you will be dealt with. Are we clear?"

"If you're firing me for what I think you're actually firing me for then I call the right to appeal." he said, when the older man looked surprised for a moment he knew that his suspicions were correct. "When the new watcher arrives and the situation is explained, I appeal for the right to be chosen instead."

"Very well, then currently you are suspended without pay pending your termination." Travers nodded smugly. He thought this was over, although truthfully there was only a slim chance that it wasn't. "Congratulations again." Travers said, bowing his head to Buffy as he made to leave.

"Bite me." she spat out.

"Yes, well...colourful girl." he chuckled, as he headed out of the library.

The moment he left her whole body seemed to slump. Giles watched her reach for the cloth in front of her and crossed the room to help her. She was shaking, shock probably...her body wasn't used to feeling this level of pain. She let him; he took that as a huge improvement from the fight that they had had earlier. She winced at every cut and bruise that he cleaned but continued to watch him, as if trying to read something on his face.

"So you're fired?" she asked quietly.

"Not quite yet but probably." he nodded. "If you want me gone I'll go, but otherwise I'm not going anywhere."

"I don't want you gone." she whispered, her voice croaking as tears started. "I don't want a new watcher."

"Buffy...I probably shouldn't tell you this but Quentin is going to assume I will anyway so...the test isn't the only thing that happens to a slayer when she turns eighteen." he told her. "You don't have to take my word for it; I can show you the journals so that you can read for yourself."

"Tell me." she pleaded softly.

"She is bonded to a watcher; the severity of the bond depends on the slayer's requirements in the eyes of the council. It is seen as a way to prevent rogue slayers." he told her. "Whether they plan to send two watchers; one for you and one for Faith, or plan to bond you to the same one I do not know. I would imagine that you will probably have one each, as they'll most likely want strong bonds. You'll notice that Faith is a bit...overzealous should we say? When slayers become adults the power sometimes goes to their heads, I mean who can stop them?"

"Drugs?" she replied flippantly. He hid his wounded look as best he could, he deserved it after all.

"The council have been working with slayers for centuries Buffy, they have learnt how to manage them however a rogue slayer can cause a lot of damage before the council arrive to stop them." he told her. "So they created a way for a watcher to control his slayer should she go against his wishes. A bond. The bonding can be done several ways, you don't need to know all the details but it often isn't pleasant. It can't be forced exactly but the council will manipulate and threaten you until you are bonded, likely they will use your mother as a weakness. Once bonded if a slayer is acting against her watcher's orders, the watcher has the ability to either temporarily drain the slayers supernatural abilities to render them near harmless or to cause them...pain...much like training through electric shocks."

"That's barbaric. That's insane." she growled. "Some guy I've never even met taking my power or training me like an animal. It's sick."

"They've seen the results of a rogue slayer Buffy, you may not be like that but can't you imagine the damage you could do if you decided that you took the law into your own hands. How many humans could you kill before the council could arrive?" he asked, trying to get her to understand the severity of a rogue slayer. He didn't agree with the council's methods in this area but he did understand them.

"You said something about an appeal." she said after a while of silence.

"Ah, well...just another option but um...Quentin has agreed that once all has been officially explained that you can choose me instead for the bond." he replied awkwardly.

"Then why did he fire you, that doesn't make any sense? Fire you for caring then let me choose you anyway, it can't be that easy." she said shaking her head.

"It isn't." he told her, putting the cloth down and looking at her seriously. "The council choose the type of bonding ritual required, most slayers have been trained before being called and are reasonably compliant with the council's wishes, therefore bonding may be easier. There are a great many different bonds that they can choose from. I suspect the reason I was fired has everything to do with the type of bonding that they have chosen for you, you are after all an unknown element almost. You were allowed to live a normal life until you were called and even then have been allowed to maintain friendships and schooling and such." He got up and walked to his office to retrieve a couple of the diaries and returned with them. "It was the words he used that clued me in. He said I have a father's love, which implies to me that the bond they will require of you will at the very least, require a sexual component to the ritual itself. They probably have the type of bonding picked out already, probably before they even arrived and you insulting him to his face will have only cemented the idea. The reason he wanted me fired is because the ritual requires me to see you in a sexual light and vice versa something that cannot happen if it is a father's love."

"Is it?" she asked quietly, looking lost again. He didn't know how to answer that question, the answer was no, not really. He loved her in a way but he wasn't sure how, it wasn't something as easily categorized as a father's love. It was the pride of a teacher, the protectiveness of a parent, the understanding of a friend, the softness of a lover and a level of unity that only came from fighting side by side as watcher and slayer. How could he ever explain something he himself didn't fully understand?

"In a way I suppose that part of what I feel for you could be considered parental but the way I care about you is very complicated, as with most watcher slayer relationships." he shrugged, deciding on a vague honesty. "Even when we first met I didn't view you as a child, yet I didn't view you as an adult either. Teenagers fall in that awkward in between phase, not to mention the extra responsibilities that you face which undoubtedly age you with their burden. Anyway, I think the ritual they will enforce will be one of these two. In these diaries are two examples of each. There are more examples of them or diaries that follow the events after these if you wish to read more."

"So why did he agree?" she asked, taking one of the books from him.

"Because he knows that you wouldn't want to see me that way either." he replied. "I'm sorry Buffy; I wish there were a way out of this. If anyone can get out of it it's be Faith, she has no strong ties to blackmail her with but I imagine they will track her and use the drug to neutralize her first. There's no getting away from this. You never know perhaps the new watcher won't be what you think."

They didn't talk for much longer before he gave her a lift home. She stayed up all night reading the journals and her mother called her in sick the next day so that she could recover. Luckily she could feel her strength returning by morning, not all of it but she had some sign that it was wearing off which filled her with relief.

The rituals she was reading about however did not. One of the rituals was a death bond; it was performed by a spell and then some kind of sex act that ended with the seed of a male watcher inside the slayer, for what she was reading it didn't seem to matter where it even went or if the slayer was conscious. This bond meant that the watcher could hurt his slayer as if she were as weak as he was. Only he could hurt her that easily but he could. The downside was that when the watcher died the slayer died and vice versa. The other was just twisted; from the example that she had read so far the watcher practically raped the girl and trained her to serve him using his bond with her to inflict pain until he had her trained to serve his every command. He practically bragged in his diary about the twisted things he made her do until her death just four months later. She wasn't sure she wanted to read the two other accounts let alone more, the council expected her to do this. They expected her to become nothing more than a battle dog, an attack dog...she'd rather die.

The next account was better, it was a repeat of the second ritual where the slayer was trained using pain to follow orders but it was different. This slayer submitted to the ritual willingly, it had a rocky start but by the end of the journal the watcher seemed to have a genuine relationship with his slayer and sounded almost heartbroken when she was gone. The last account that she had to read was the death bond again. The council had almost not allowed the bond at all because they suspected the watcher of being in love with his slayer and suggested that he wouldn't be willing to use his power to harm her when necessary. In the end they had allowed it because they believed that if the world was at stake he would make the right decision and she had been an obedient slayer so far. That account had read like the love story that it was until both watcher and slayer had been killed by a Glarenic demon six years later. Anna Prince was one of the longest serving slayers recorded, she served from the age of sixteen when she was called until she died at twenty-four.

That story gave her hope. The problem was that she had the choice of being bonded to a complete stranger or to Giles. Giles! She hadn't ever thought of him like that, he was an old watcher guy not a guy, guy! Sure he was reasonably good looking and he was a nice guy but he was like forty! She didn't quite think of him as the father figure that Travers had assumed either, more like an old friend or family acquaintance. Someone that you love and trust but just don't ever think of in terms of being male. She couldn't have sex with Giles.

Giles and her were difficult to explain; he was her watcher, he was an adult…but he was also her friend. She cared about him and felt that she could perhaps call it love but not the same kind she felt for her mother or father, nor the same as for Angel or even Willow and Xander…it was confusing.

She eventually fell asleep only to resume her thoughts when she woke up and this continued for several days. Her new watcher could be totally hot, she doubted it but he could be hot and nice...then again how would she know for sure? This guy could show up pretending to be a real charmer and then the second she let him complete a ritual, turn on her. She wasn't always great at spotting liars...Angelus had played her emotions like chess.

It was nearly two weeks before Buffy walked into the school library to see several men in suits. She walked in cautiously as they turned to see her.

"Ah, Miss Summers." Quentin's voice greeted her. She didn't bother to reply and instead made her way past them to sit on the table near where Giles stood leant back against it. "Allow me to introduce the new watchers to you, for Faith; Mr Wesley Wyndam-Price and for you Mr Gareth Privett."

"And you escorted them all the way here, how sweet of you." she bit out. She was surprised that both watchers were younger men. Wesley tall, slim and dark haired, he looked cute in a dorky kind of way. Faith would eat him alive. Gareth was even taller, slim and blonde. He was gorgeous.

"Pleasure to meet you Miss Summers." Wesley said offering his hand.

"Are they evil?" she asked, looking to Giles.

"I assure you that they've both been thoroughly trained and inspected." Travers told her.

"Are they evil?" she asked again.

"Not in the um...no Buffy, not evil as far as I can tell." Giles told her with a small smile.

"Buffy?" Gareth asked, as if testing the name out. He held his hand out to her. "Pleasure to meet you; I'm sure we'll get along just fine."

"I trust you still want your appeal?" Travers asked Giles, looking rather smug with himself as he watched Buffy looking the new watcher up and down.

"Well, that's rather up to Buffy isn't it." he sighed looking a bit resigned. "But I won't fight the decision, you have my word that I won't try to hinder her new watcher in any way."

"Good, I gather you have already told her about the ritual?" he asked.

"He told me something about a bonding being why he was fired. I gather you're going to explain that to me?" Buffy spoke up before he could. He was surprised that she had chosen to lie but then perhaps she hoped to gain more information by playing dumb.

"A slayer in adulthood is near unstoppable, at least to all natural forces. The risk to human lives should the slayer decide to go rogue is too great to leave uncontrolled. For centuries the way to control the slayer has been to bond her with her watcher, this allows him to be the one person in the world with the power to control the slayer." he explained. "This is done through a ritual, I believed Rupert to be incapable of carrying out the ritual necessary and unwilling to use the power to control you when necessary. That is the reason for your new watcher although Rupert has been officially granted the right to appeal so you are still free to choose him."

"And if Faith and I don't want to be controlled?" she asked.

"I'm sure we can convince you otherwise, resisting really is rather foolish. There were times were if a slayer was considered a liability the council would simple be sent to drug her and execute her, we do endeavor to use more humane methods now. Slayers can be retrained." he told her.

"You call "retraining" a human being like they're some kind of animal humane?" Buffy asked in disbelief.

The library doors burst open as Faith entered the room.

"Ah, this is perhaps Faith." Wesley smiled.

"New watchers?" Faith asked.

"New watchers." Buffy nodded.

"Screw that." Faith muttered, before turning on heel and marching straight back out. Wesley stood there looking surprised and trying to find something to say.

"Wesley, go back to the car and contact Jones and Kane and retrieve her." Travers barked.

"Buffy really, do we need to get dramatic about this?" Gareth asked, turning his attention back to Buffy as Wesley left the room. He took her hand and tugged it until she stood up off of the table. "You seem like a smart girl, I'm sure we can learn to work together wonderfully. There's no need to resort to nasty threats is there?"

"I choose Giles." she said clearly. Giles stared at her in shock, had she not read the diaries he gave her? He stared at the younger watcher for a moment in confusion, he was considerably younger and better looking...what on earth was Buffy thinking?

"Perhaps you might want to know what the ritual entails first my dear." Quentin Travers said with a smile.

"Doesn't matter. Giles has kept me alive so far, I trust him with my life." she said firmly. Travers handed her a book already open to a page and then another book again open.

"Take your pick, the council has approved ether of these rituals." he said smugly.

"You can't force me to have sex with anyone, that's rape." she replied, passing the books to Giles.

"Miss Summers, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. We'll get this bond from you one way or another, so I suggest you agree sooner rather than later." he told her. "We can set up the ritual for you and Gareth this evening and this'll all be sorted by morning."

Buffy looked at Giles almost apologetically before she spoke again. "I...If I have to do this, I still choose Giles." If it weren't such serious situation she would have laughed aloud at the expression on her watchers face right then.

"You understand the requirements of the bond?" Travers asked her again.

"Unfortunately I do." she nodded. "You guys are sick you know that? I have class now."


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Notes: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I love hearing that people are enjoying it and if they aren't I like to know why so I can improve so keep the feedback coming. Also…this chapter is not for kiddies so if you don't want to read anything of an adult nature turn back now.

Part Two

Buffy didn't go to the library at lunchtime, she wasn't exactly sure what she was going to say to Giles when she saw him again...she wasn't even sure if she could look him in the eye again now that she was going to have to...she grabbed her head in frustration not even wanting to think about it. When school ended she couldn't put it off any longer and headed to the library.

When she entered it was empty. She walked round to his office and knocked on the doorframe when she saw him engrossed in paperwork.

"A-ah Buffy, tea?" he asked, noticing her and standing up.

"Please." she agreed.

"I don't even know where to begin Buffy." he sighed, as he turned and put the kettle on.

"Are you mad?" she asked softly.

"Why on earth would you think I'd be mad?" he asked, looking at her in surprise.

"Because...you know the...well you know." she replied, looking at her feet studiously.

"Confused perhaps, shocked certainly but not angry." he told her. "Are you certain of your decision Buffy, this can't be undone?"

"Giles, I'm sorry about this... but that watcher said I looked like a smart girl and you know what?" she asked. "A smart girl wouldn't trust a stranger to have total control over her life no matter how nice or hot he was. You're the only one I trust enough to have control over me."

"That's remarkably sound reasoning." he nodded, handing her a cup of tea. "Have you decided which ritual you wish to perform?"

"Wish to perform? I don't wish to perform anything but I don't have a choice so what do you think?" she asked.

"Neither are brilliant options, Quentin will want me to test the bond tomorrow to confirm that it is completely active, which will require me to inflict pain on you, although that is sort of a moot point since it will be required regardless of which bond you choose and in fact if you change your mind whomever you choose will be required to test the bond." he explained, before picking up a book and opening it. "The death bond links the life forces of watcher and slayer, the watcher is able to inflict pain on his slayer as if she were human, he can neutralize her powers also and there has been some reported cases of sensing emotions or thoughts from one another with this bond, which could be useful but could also be an invasion of privacy. Sometimes the slayer has been able to feel pain inflicted on the watcher, it is thought that it has to do with the fact that they are linked so closely. The other downside is that when one dies the other does also."

"That sounds like a no to me. I have a short shelf life, I'm not taking you down with me." she replied shaking her head.

"The other is hardly better Buffy, the Remanachi ritual bonds a slayer to a watcher as a servant. The watcher them has the power to inflict sudden bursts of pain on his slayer when she disobeys, he has the ability to use a form of hypnosis to literally influence her actions against her will. This bond isn't a life force link, it requires renewal every three moon cycles to remain in place and the council will check…they could also change their mind and remove me again at a later date."

"Sometimes I think I'd rather die." she said sadly. "When I think of the slayer in the journals that was forced into it...what he did to her...no wonder she only lasted months, she probably begged for death."

"Buffy..." he sighed in defeat. There was nothing he could say to make this situation better, nothing he could do. "I deliberately gave you examples of best and worst case scenarios for those bond, for you to fully understand the gravity of the situation at hand. I didn't want you walking into the meeting this morning blind."

"That's why it has to be you." she told him. "Because I can trust that you won't use any of those powers unless it's a life of death thing. The ritual...you said it...for the slayer...it'll be bad?" He stared at her and felt his chest clench at the look on her face. It reminded him of when he had told her the prophesy of the Master and she had asked if dying would hurt. He reached out quickly to reassure her.

"No, well it can be but it's a lot easier if the people completing the bonding are both willing. Buffy, I won't hurt you...it will be awkward but I won't hurt you." he told her squeezing her hand briefly.

"What happens?" she asked, blinking back her tears and regaining control of her emotions.

"A circle is cast and then sealed once we are inside. There is a spell, an incantation and a blood letting but it will be hardly a sting on both our parts, I'll do it as quickly and cleanly as I can. That begins the binding, sort of like stating our intentions for the higher powers." he explained. "After that the circle is dismantled and both parties must be prepared for the confirmation. Basically you will be expected to wash in natural only ingredients and then dress in a thin natural fiber clothes before returning to the circle. This time inside the circle there is only a short incantation before the confirmation, once completed the bond is sealed. It may feel strange for a short time afterwards because your life force has been altered and joined with another but it will pass quickly." he explained everything as if reading from a book, but he wasn't...he'd read them over and over already. There was no way he could forget them if he tried. "That is for the Kahana death bond or sometimes it is known as the life bond depending on whether one is viewing it as a positive or negative; that is the one we should be doing. The other requires more pain on your end than I wish to inflict, I couldn't stand the idea of turning you into that."

"And if we do this...you get to stay my watcher and they go away again?" she asked.

"Yes, once they have confirmed the bond is complete...that I can control you if necessary, they will leave." he nodded.

"Right...so um..."

"Come to mine after patrol tonight." he told her. She nodded and ducked out of his office. "Buffy? You should know before you do this that once you are bonded...you can't have intercourse with anyone else. It um...the bond will automatically cause pain the moment another penetrates you and possibly to the other partner also, so if you change your mind and decide to give young Mr Privett a chance, I will understand."

"I told you, I trust you; I can't trust a stranger. I'm not changing my mind..." she replied not turning to face him. "I can't be with the guy I want anyway, so it's not going to be bothering me for a while and in my line of work there's no point planning that far ahead, when tomorrow you might be dead." she shrugged before heading out.

As she headed home she realised that what she said was both true and false, her and Angel were complicated...in fact the only time she could ever see Giles using his control over her, was when it had to do with Angel. That was a scary thought but she admitted that perhaps she needed someone else to control her when it came to him. She couldn't be with him, at least not romantically. She couldn't let her hormones slip and release that monster on the world again. So really, not being able to have sex with him again was probably the only perk she was going to get out of this. Sex with Giles...it was something she found pretty difficult to imagine. She tried picturing him more like Ripper...would he be more like that? She shook her head, probably not...with Miss Calendar he had been all spluttery still.

She ate dinner with her mother in silence and finished her history assignment before getting ready for patrol. She wished her mother goodnight and her Mom told her to be careful as she headed out. Only one vampire tonight, good...she liked it when things weren't busy but also weren't so quiet that it was obvious something big was going down.

When she arrived at Giles' place there were two unfamiliar cars outside. She knocked and the door opened automatically. She came in and scanned the room. It didn't look the same as it usually did; the furniture had been shoved to the sides to allow ample floor space for a large circle. Travers and Gareth greeted her first.

"You can still change your mind until the second casting, once you step into the circle the second time you cannot." he told her.

"Get lost." she muttered.

"Buffy, I trust patrol went smoothly?" Giles asked, as he entered the room.

"Just the one in an alley off Vale street. No new graves in the cemeteries tonight so all good." she nodded.

"Anything unusual about the vampire or just the usual?" he asked.

"Nope, just the usual. Nothing special either not that old, not that smart." she shrugged. "Hey if things stay this quiet, I might get that social life after all."

"Buffy." he chided. In front of the council was not the time for her jokes, although that was probably why she was doing it.

"I know, I know." she nodded.

"So she does do as she's told." Travers chuckled.

"It has been known yes, usually asking works better than ordering." her watcher told the older man coldly.

"Yes well, shall we get started then?" he asked, seeming to wave off the thought that asking a slayer rather than ordering her was even possible.

"Buffy?" Giles asked. She nodded and moved closer to him even though she felt like she was about to be sick. It wasn't that she was repulsed or afraid of him. It wasn't him at all. It was giving up part of herself in a way more permanent than marriage, at eighteen...with no choice in the matter.

"All you have to do at this point is when I ask you in the circle if you consent to the bond you simply have to say that you do, or even yes will suffice." he told her, before moving to the other men in the room to supervise the setting up of herbs and candles around the circle.

"You're sure I can't persuade you?" she turned to the blonde man next to her and shook her head. He was very beautiful; he was thin and pale but not paler than Angel of course. He probably had perfect little abs under his shirt too. He couldn't have been older than thirty. She had no doubt that they had sent him hoping that her hormones would lead her to choose him.

"You said I was a smart girl, a smart girl doesn't give a stranger total control over her for the rest of her life." she told him.

"Not even if you like it?" he smirked.

"It doesn't matter either way. I don't trust you, I trust him. Decision made." she nodded.

"He's old enough to be your father." he pressed.

"But he's not my father...and since slayer come with an expiration date he still isn't likely to die first." she replied.

"No, you'll die and take him with you instead." he bit out a last shot before moving away. She had to admit that it had worked, she felt guilty.

"Buffy?" she heard Giles call her.

"Um...before we...are you sure Giles? You're about to give up-"

"I'm not going anywhere, we're in this together Buffy." he told her reaching and squeezing her hand. "Until the end." She nodded; he knew what she was thinking...he didn't need a power for that.

They stepped into the circle and she watched her watcher begin to speak. As he did the candles flared brighter. It wasn't long before he reached for a shiny goblet and a knife on the floor between them.

He reached for her hand and sliced her palm cleanly and quickly, as he had promised. She didn't let out a noise or visibly flinch, she didn't want to give the council members around them the satisfaction. Giles saw it though, a brief flicker in her eyes at the sting of the cut. The blood dropped into the cup and then he repeated the action with his own palm. When he chanted again over the goblet he stopped and looked to her for a moment.

"Do you consent to the bond willingly?" he asked.

"I...yes." she nodded. He chanted again and she leant back in surprise when the cup burst into flames inside.

All the candles died down at the same time as the fire inside the goblet and the room went silent.

"You can step out of the circle now." he told her.

As they moved out of the circle, it suddenly occurred to her that there were five other men here watching their every more.

"Giles?" she asked. "Please tell me they don't have to watch the whole thing."

"They won't be able to see." he reassured her. "The second part of the ritual is considered sacred; the circle will be surrounded by a wall of sorts, a magical energy that shrouds the inside and outside. We won't be able to see them nor will they be able to see us. We have clothing that we can work around rather than remove if that makes you more comfortable. Another reason why this bond would be better than the other, the Remanachi bond is to bond is not an equal bond and it's nature does not require privacy." She nodded blankly for a moment and then realised he was moving away and quickly caught his arm to stop him.

"It isn't you Giles, I don't have anything against you; it's all of this...the lack of choice...being forced into something like this." she tried to explain. "Alright I'm not going to lie, I've never thought about you that way and it'll be weird but you don't repulse me and I'm not afraid of you. I just...thought you should know that."

"It helps." he nodded. They moved away from one another and he headed over to Travers.

A man she hadn't met handed her a pile of linen. "You are to go into the bathroom and wash then wear this and only this when you return." he told her.

"I'm guessing that means no underwear too...great." she mumbled heading into the bathroom. Giles watched her go before heading to the kitchen and using the sink to quickly rinse himself off and change, not bothering with his modesty and just remaining facing away from the men in his front room.

When he returned to the edge of the circle he stood in a pair of black linen trousers with nothing beneath them, his feet and chest bare. Thankfully the weather in California allowed him to remain warm even in so little.

"I want you all out of my home the moment the bond is sealed. When those barriers come down I don't want to see you on the other side of them." he told Travers harshly.

"Understood, but you know you will still have to meet us in the morning, both of you." the older man replied. He waited for Buffy and eventually it had been so long that one of the men knocked on the bathroom door. She came out only moments later dressed in a simple white linen tunic that had short sleeves and reached her knees. Her hair was wet and she looked only looked at the ground as she shuffled out to the edge of the circle.

"This is the last chance either of you will get to change your minds; Buffy you can redo the first ritual with your new watcher. After this there is no turning back." Travers spoke.

Buffy didn't speak.

"I need an answer from both of you, are you definitely going through with this?" he demanded.

"You'll not talk me into backing out now Quentin." Giles told him firmly.

"Yes, I'm going through with it." Buffy said quietly, staring at the floor and her bare feet.

"Well, if you wanted to ruin the relationship I had with my slayer congratulations, you've done it." Giles growled at his colleagues. "She'll never look me in the eye again after this and you bloody well know it."

"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." Quentin shrugged.

"Buffy?" he asked her softly, holding out his hand to her. She uncrossed her arms and slid her hand into his and he led her into the circle. He spoke an incantation that Buffy didn't understand, it sounded like Latin but she wasn't sure and her vision seemed to blur. It took her a moment to realise that her vision hadn't blurred, she could still see her feet and hands clearly, it was anything outside the circle that had blurred. Like a bubble just like Giles had told her.

They both stood in an awkward silence for a moment before she found the courage to look at him.

"This won't ruin us will it Giles?" she asked him. "After everything we've been through so far I mean? This isn't our fault after all..."

"I hope not." he replied stepping closer to her until he could take her hands in his. "But it is a foolish wish to think this won't affect us at all."

"I know." she admitted. "So..."

He looked around the bubble nervously, he had tried to push the fear of being unable to perform to the back of his mind until now but the fact that he wasn't erect would be a problem. They had no choice now, if they left without the bonding the council would execute them instead he had no doubt. They had begun the second part, Buffy could not bond with anyone but him now so unless they completed it…Buffy was of no use to them.

"This is awkward huh?" she asked, her lips quirking into a glimpse of a smile.

"Yes it is rather." he grinned.

"Giles, how do we do this? I've...only done this the once." she asked looking nervous.

"You don't have to remove that if you don't feel comfortable. As you can see no one else can see us. It's just you and I." he told her moving his hands to her shoulders. "Perhaps if for a moment we close our eyes and try to forget who we are?"

"OK...I can play pretend." she nodded closing her eyes. After a moment she spoke again. "Now what?"

"Say silent Buffy, just be patient." he told her. He had been trying to pretend she was someone else also or at least try to pretend she wasn't really her or something but her talking had ruined that. He tried again.

Buffy was beginning to feel a bit silly, she kept her eyes closed but she couldn't forget who she was or where she was. She couldn't forget who she was with either but having her eyes closed certainly helped her relax a bit. She felt him move closer and tensed a little. Then lips touched hers and she sucked in a slight breath in surprise. She kept her eyes closed and didn't dare move, she didn't respond but she tried to relax, freezing on him wouldn't help. She couldn't forget who he was either, so she tried focusing her attention elsewhere. She focused on just the lips rather than the man. The warm lips placing small chaste kisses against hers, lingering a fraction longer with each kiss. When they lingered long enough to stroke hers, she found herself following as they retreated. She was rewarded with another kiss which she responded to willingly.

Those lips continued to caress hers, move with hers until a hot tongue slid into her partially open mouth. This she could do. Kissing she could do. Focusing on the feelings and the details rather than the overall picture would get her through this. For a brief moment she felt herself tensing up remembering who she was kissing but then a hand moved from her shoulder to delve amongst her hair and coax her closer. She let out a small groan as her stomach fluttered.

Before she could think again she found herself pressed tightly along his body held in his arms and responding to his heated kiss. Her hands braced themselves on the hot bare skin of his chest. Her fingers toyed with the hairs there and the thought that this was Giles crept in again but it didn't panic her this time, she wasn't thinking enough to worry about it. She felt him against her stomach, hard and ready. She didn't dare let him stop kissing her for fear it would end the spell between them but she carefully tugged at his shoulder and tried to express to him what she wanted. Seeming to realise what she wanted, he followed her unceremoniously to the floor, trying not to let his lips leave hers for more than a breath.

Giles leant up on one hand as he kissed her, his other travelled the length of her body. He knew that this was Buffy, he hadn't been able to forget but she was a beautiful young woman who he cared about a great deal so it was easier for him. His worst fear was doing something that Buffy didn't want but right now she seemed totally comfortable with him. She gasped against his mouth as his hand slid up under her tunic and gripped her hip. Such a lovely sound. He moved his legs to push hers apart and press himself over her fully. She seemed to buck involuntarily against him as his tented trousers brushed against her center. Her tunic was partially lifted now so she would be nearly exposed there, he skimmed his hand from her hip to her mound and stroked over it a few times before exploring further.

Buffy felt like all the breath had left her when she felt his fingers slide inside her. She felt that she should be embarrassed but his fingers rocking rhythmically inside her prevented that thought from coming to the front of her mind. His hand left her and she couldn't contain the slight sigh of disappointment at the loss. Moments later his hand gripped her hip again and then her eyes flew open as she felt him fill her completely in one solid movement. She tore her lips from his with the force of her gasp for air. She didn't even register the pleasured groan that slipped from his own mouth.

"Are you alright?" his voice murmured against her ear. She didn't really know the answer to that question; he had made her feel so wonderful that she's almost completely forgotten why they were doing this and why she had been nervous. Now that he filled her, she felt stretched to the point where it was uncomfortable but still something her body wanted. She hadn't heard that it could hurt the second time...although this certainly wasn't the same as the sharp pain from before... Would it feel uncomfortable inside every time she had sex with a man? "Buffy?" She heard concern in his voice and shifted her gaze to meet his.

"I'm alright." she said softly. She trusted him, there was no man in her life that she trusted more...and right now her body wanted his regardless of whether the love between them was romantic or not. She shifted her hips a little as she adjusted to him inside her. "Does it always feel so awkward for women at first?"

"Awkward how?" he asked patiently, placing a kiss on her neck.

"Being stretched." she replied, amazed that she had even asked the question in the first place and kicking herself for probably ruining the moment. She was surprised by his slight chuckle against her neck.

"No love, but if you're new to this then your body isn't used to stretching those muscles." he explained, pulling back and then thrusting forward again earning a small noise from the blonde beneath him. "God you feel incredible." He moved again and Buffy couldn't do anything but think the same. He felt incredible inside her, his now steady movements causing wonderful feelings in her that she hadn't felt in a long time. His lips moved over her shoulder and neck allowing her to just nuzzle into his shoulder to quieten her sounds of pleasure. He released her hip and leant up on his arms, lifting his lips from her skin and shifting his angle slightly. Her head dropped back against the floor as she let out a moan. She tensed around him as a tingling feeling reached her stomach, his next thrust brought the same lovely tingling as before and no sooner had she realised what it was she was feeling, did she reach out to grip his arms as she gasped for air and lost herself to the waves of pleasure travelling through her body. She felt him shift above her again and by the time she began to regain her senses he was groaning against her neck.

The world grew blurry again but this time it was her not the barrier of the circle. Her head span and her chest ached and she barely registered anything for a while.

Seeing Buffy's eyes glazing over snapped him out of his post-orgasm glow pretty quickly. She seemed to be in pain. She didn't say a word but moved her hands to clutch her head and shake it about. He climbed off of her swiftly, tucked himself back away and pulled her head into his lap to prevent her hurting herself and began massaging her temples. The bond was taking place. The barrier around the circle began to fade and he was grateful that there was no one waiting the over side of it. Once the magic had stopped flaring, he cast a simple spell to put the candles out and scooped her up into his arms.

He tucked her into his bed and sat next to her as she began to relax and eventually drift into a calm sleep. He stood to leave her but froze before he reached the doorway. Her first time she had awoken to find Angel missing and later that he was evil...what would she think if she woke up alone a second time?

He turned and moved to lie in the bed with her, keeping to his side but watching over her until he too fell asleep, because that was who he was. Her watcher, bonded with her in both life and death. He would be whatever she needed.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Notes: OK, bad me! I haven't updated in a while but over the festive period with a family to look after it gets a little manic for everyone right? Soooo…I'm just going to get this up and then I need to get around to going through and checking my entry for the Drunken Giles ficathon before that goes up on livejournal.

Disclaimer: You know the drill guys, I don't own it!

Part Three

When she stirred it was bright. She couldn't remember going to sleep...she glanced around and it took her a moment to realise where she was. She'd not been here many times before, only the odd occasion when they had brought back an unconscious or injured Giles.

Giles!

Suddenly remembering why she felt so stiff and what had happened she glanced around quickly. Her eyes landed on her sleeping watcher next to her. He was on top of the covers not under them with her and he was asleep on his front snoring lightly. She flushed with embarrassment thinking of the previous night...the things he had done to her...with her. She looked at his bare back and felt the urge to cry when she saw the marks that had been left there. Someone she had made love to had done that to him...it might not have really been him but it was still hard to swallow. It seemed so twisted that she had been intimate with two men and one of them had tortured the other...for hours. She shook her head and forced her thoughts back to the present.

She wondered how they had gotten up here and why such a private man had remained with her. He probably fell asleep waiting to see if she was alright. She suddenly realised that in spending the night here her mother would be worrying. She remembered the last time she felt this panic and then looked to the man next to her with widened eyes. That was why he had stayed...so that she wouldn't wake up alone.

Everything he did for her...and now tied to her until she died, and he would follow her there too. She choked back a sob and leant over to place a kiss on his temple.

"Buffy?" he asked in a rough voice as he opened his eyes.

"I love you." she told him. "It may not be the same way as him but...I just thought you should know, I do love you Giles and I'm grateful."

"I love you too my dear girl." he replied. He felt immediately relieved that despite feeling a bit awkward, last night hadn't ruined their relationship. They still cared about one another and appreciated one another. They would manage. "I had Willow call your mother last night and tell her that you're staying there."

"Oh thank God." she sighed in relief. "That's one less worry."

"And you're other worries?" he enquired.

"What happened? Everything was...well you know 'wow' and then dizzy badness and then I wake up in bed." she flushed.

"The forging of the bond made you feel dizzy, that on top of the erm...activities caused you to pass out." he explained. "I thought you'd rather not spend the night on the floor."

"Oh." was all she said. Then another thought came across her mind. "Why didn't you pass out?"

"I would imagine that it is partially to do with having more experience in both magic and aforementioned activities and partially that it affects the slayer more." he explained.

"Right...so...what happens now?" she asked.

"Well...we go and meet with the council this morning to confirm that the bond has been completed and then we go on pretty much as normal I should hope." he told her. "We shall play the rest by ear but I dare say we can continue to treat each other as we always have."

"You didn't have to do this, I did." she said quietly. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." he replied. "I think I shall go sort out some breakfast, feel free to use the shower room through there, you're clothes are over there." He pointed to a chair in the corner where her bag and clothes from yesterday sat.

He rolled out of the bed and stood to leave but Buffy's gaze stopped him. He chose to say nothing and instead shook it off and headed downstairs.

Buffy blinked the image of his broad naked chest from her mind. Who would've thought that behind all that tweed was so much man. Weird. She got up and stretched. In her head it was confusing because she was able to view him as surprisingly attractive but that seeing him that way was wrong and weird still.

In the shower she felt much more awake. She didn't feel too bad save for an aching feeling in an intimate place. Probably because it had been so long and she had only done it the once she thought...unless it was like this everytime. She wondered if she should ask Giles but now that last night was over and they had left the bed...it seemed like the intimacy they had was now over and it would just be weird to ask that sort of thing now. Maybe she'd ask Faith. Oh God...Faith! She finished her shower and dressed in record time before dashing downstairs.

"Something wrong?" Giles asked as she whirlwinded into the front room.

"Faith." she said. "Will they be doing the same to her? Is it too late to help her? How do we help her?"

"Well, the council will insist on her bonding however the last I heard from the men here last night was that she had vanished. She knocked out the men who went after her to explain yesterday and has now fed town as far as they can tell." he explained. "There isn't a great amount we can do about that without knowing where she is I'm afraid."

"I take it you can't bond Faith to you as well?" she asked.

"It is sort of possible in some cases I believe but not with the type of bond we did. The ritual we did cannot be broken in any way but death, that is why I chose that one. That and the other is even more barbaric. This way the council cannot remove or change our bond in any way. They cannot remove me and replace me at a later date." he told her passing her a plate of breakfast.

"I kind of glad about that. I know that makes me sound awful but...I didn't really want to share you anyway." she replied.

"It isn't awful." he told her. "I am your watcher, it is a complex relationship that cannot be explained or shared."

"You're not just my watcher, you're my friend and you're Giles...you're the only man in my life I can trust...with a few minor glitches when threats to me and you are being made of course." she replied, trying not the think of how betrayed she had felt not two weeks ago. But she understood why he had to do it. "And hey...now you're the only guy I can sleep with too." Her smile slipped from her face and she looked at her plate. "Yeah, that's still weird. No offense."

"Perfectly understandable." he nodded. "As I said we can carry on as before and deal with the issue of you not being able to have another man in your life in that capacity if and when the issue arises."

"Good plan." she agreed.

"I would advise however that this morning when we meet the council that we act as if this has affected us." he said.

"It has, now I know exactly what is under that suit, not to mention the wow over last night and I still have to train with you like normal every day. It's weird." she protested. "You're Giles! You're supposed to be dependable safe guy not looks good without his shirt guy, guy!"

"I'm not entirely sure I followed that." he commented.

"Giles I obviously knew you were a guy in there somewhere but I sort of expected that I'd get the revelation gradually. You know how we've gradually learned more about each other the last three years? Well, I thought that we'd gradually continue the rest of the revelations, not wham all at once. It's a shock to the system." she tried to explain. "It's like after everything that happened last night, I'm still trying to process seeing you with your shirt off. Do you know what I mean?"

"I think I understand what you're trying to say yes." he nodded. "It isn't a great deal easier for me Buffy. I feel rather like a dirty old man for having done anything at all."

"You can't be serious." she snorted. Then she saw his face and her voice changed. "Oh God...Giles... You're not a dirty old man, not enough close." She got up and to his surprise she moved behind him and wrapped her arms around him to hug him from behind. "The circumstances weren't ideal but last night was...I wanted it, I enjoyed it and any lady would be lucky to have you Rupert Giles. You're one of a kind."

"Thank you Buffy." he said fondly, putting his hands over hers and holding them to him. "Still, what I meant earlier was that we should act like Quentin has won. Let him think that he's damaged our relationship, if he thinks we're still fine and dandy he'll not be happy "

"Isn't that the fun part?" she grinned releasing him and moving back to her seat.

"As entertaining as irritating Quentin Travers is, if he is annoyed he will be thinking up new plans to ruin us. If he believes that he has already won, he is far more likely to leave us alone." he explained.

"That makes sense" she agreed. "And the quicker he's gone the better."

The two finished their breakfast with minimum talk and headed to school. He dropped Buffy off outside before heading to the staff parking area.

"Buffy!" Willow came bounding up to her. "So...the council did their bonding spell on you and Giles? They did let Giles do it right?"

"Yeah, yeah Giles and I all watcher slayer bonded." she nodded weakly. She hadn't told Willow what was actually required for the bonding ritual. She hadn't known how to begin explaining it and the more she thought of it the more she didn't want to share it because it would make it harder to carry on as normal.

In her head, now that her and Giles were both in normal clothes and at school, she could almost pretend that it wasn't them. Almost. It seemed distant and unreal.

"I have to go meet the stupid council droids in the library this morning to confirm it's worked properly and then they should be out of our way...for now at least." she told Willow. "Faith skipped town so they haven't got her yet. I kinda hope for her sake that they never catch her. Her new watcher is quite cute in a James Bond kinda way but he reminds me of first day Giles...only more British and stuffy! I'd better go."

Sure enough when arriving at the library the room was full of watchers. This time she didn't sit casually next to Giles, she went and sat on a chair a little way from him instead. It was a close enough position that they would believe she still preferred Giles to them but far enough away from him to believe that she wasn't entirely comfortable around him anymore.

"Miss Summers, good morning." Travers greeted her cheerfully.

"That depends on how quickly you all get lost." she replied flippantly.

"You know what we need to see." he told her before his gaze shifted to Giles.

"I haven't done this before, I've not finished memorising all of the details." he warned them and Buffy.

"So I'm a guinea pig, joy." she mumbled, shrinking back into her chair a little as he stood. Their act suitably convinced Quentin who looked very smug at Buffy's discomfort with him.

"Stand up Buffy, if you would move over to where Mr Whyndam-Price is stood?" he suggested, expecting her to need someone to support her in a moment and for their act to work it couldn't be him. Buffy had reached the younger watcher but not even turned to face Giles before he mumbled a word and she felt dizzy. Sure enough she found herself falling and the younger man caught her quickly and lowered her to the floor gently. Buffy was livid, she had been prepared for a bit of pain or to feel a bit unsteady or something, not for her strength to just vanish from her. She tried to sit up to tell him so but her head spun and Wesley held her down.

"I think waiting a moment before hopping back to your feet would be prudent Miss Summers." he told her gently. "Just a moment."

"Well that is rather successful, I dare say that worked even better than I thought it would." Quentin clapped his hands together in delight.

"Buffy are you alright?" she heard Giles asking as he moved closer. She instead allowed Wesley to help her to her feet.

"What the hell was that? You said it wouldn't be that bad!" she snapped, turning on him.

"If you recall I also just said that I've never done it before." he replied calmly. "Are you alright?"

"I...don't know." she replied. She still felt weaker than usual and for the first time felt real fear about this bond. Her slayer strength could be taken from her at any moment.

"I only held the spell for a moment, your strength should be back to completely normal levels in a few minutes." he told her reassuringly.

She let go of Wesley's arm and slowly made her way back to her seat.

"Are we done?" Giles asked his superior coldly.

"I suppose we are." he replied. "I shall be taking half of my team and returning to England in the morning, the remaining team minus Mr Wyndam-Price will continue their work in tracking down the rogue slayer. Mr Wyndam-Price will remain here to await her return. I want you to meet with him occasionally to update each other on the situation, although I dare say this morning it looks like your Slayer would rather have had the choice of Wesley here for herself." He chuckled at that and gestured for his staff to start filing out until only Wesley, Giles and Buffy remained.

"I trust that you will inform me if you hear anything of Faith's whereabouts?" Wesley spoke up.

"Why would I do that?" Buffy asked.

"Because if Faith comes to me willingly to complete the ritual it will be a great deal easier than if Quentin's men find her and bring her back half drugged or worse unconscious." he replied looking uncomfortable. "I'd rather complete a bond where she was willing not forced..."

"Then don't force her." Buffy replied angrily. "What kind of people are you? You'd perform a ritual on and rape a knocked out girl for your precious council traditions! It's wrong and sick."

"If you think that this is something I want Miss Summers you are gravely mistaken." he replied before leaving the library.

"Wesley Wyndam-Price is Quentin's nephew, it wouldn't surprise me if he is being forced into this because he is someone Quentin believes to be afraid of him and will follow his every order. He certainly isn't the kind of watcher you think of to suit Faith." Giles mused. "Are you feeling alright Buffy?"

"Fine, I have biology." she replied getting up and heading for the library doors without another word.

She didn't speak to him for the rest of the day. She did a quick patrol that night and returned to bed as usual but without reporting to him. It wasn't his fault, she was probably being way harsh on him but feeling that powerless had reminded her of the test not two weeks ago. She would forgive him, it wasn't his fault but it wasn't any less upsetting.

She resolved to give herself tonight to sulk and tomorrow things would be back to normal.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter four

Things went back to normal for the most part, Buffy and Giles and the rest of the gang carried on as they always did. She thought that she had seen Faith out one night, so she may have never left town after all. She hadn't told Wesley yet. He seemed pleasant enough, in a rigid British way but he still couldn't be trusted.

The only thing that was different was when she and Giles were alone. On a usual day to day basis they continued on pretty unaffected by what had happened that night of their bonding, there were odd occasions when she thought of him as attractive but not often enough to make her overly uncomfortable. After all there were plenty of other men and even total strangers that she occasionally thought 'yum' at but never did anything about, it's just she wasn't used to thinking it about Giles so she was sometimes a bit surprised when she did.

The biggest change between them was when she noticed he was particularly down or when he noticed the same of her, they didn't hesitate to give one another a brief hug or even just a squeeze of the hand in silent support. After all, considering what they had done, a friendly hug was nothing, especially not if it made him feel better. It made her feel better sometimes, when she needed it. They were more open with one another for the most part and that could only be a good thing in their roles, in her opinion anyway.

It was something that she needed that drove her to knock on his front door that night after patrol.

"Buffy, is something the matter?" he asked, gesturing her in and closing the door behind her.

"No." she said quickly. "Well...sort of..."

"Would you like some tea?" he offered.

"Um...no thank you, I just need to blurt it out." she replied. "I need you to do your watcher mojo on me."

"I'm sorry can you repeat that?" he asked, furrowing his brows in confusion.

"You know how you have power over me, I need you to use it." she said.

"Why on earth would I need to do that?" he blinked, pulling his glasses off and cleaning them.

"Angel." she told him.

"I see..." he nodded, realising that this wasn't a conversation either of them were going to enjoy. "You can no longer complete any act with him that would lose him his soul so I should think that would be enough of-"

"Not that." she cut him off. "Believe me that was one of the advantages I was seeing to this too. Kinda removes temptation when I'll be resorted to a painful wreck for cheating on my watcher."

"Buffy it's hardly cheating." he murmured.

"That's not the point though." she shrugged. "Temptation removed but...it made me realise that I can't be around Angel and just be friends. Maybe one day I can but we need space to forget each other as lovers and move on to each other as friends. I want you to use your power over me to stop me seeing Angel at all."

"Buffy that isn't exactly how this works, besides which it sounds like you've come to a pretty firm decision yourself." he told her. "Buffy, you said yourself that you and Angel...you can't have the happy ending you want. He is a vampire, soul or not; he can never be a husband or father and you are a slayer you won't-"

"Live past turning twenty?" she guessed sadly.

"You will if I have anything to say about it...but the reality is that slayers are always on the frontlines, a family wouldn't be fair for either you or them. You may well live to be thirty yet but even then would it be fair to leave a young child behind?" he tried to explain.

"No...I guess not..." she agreed. "But watchers...they must sometimes have families right? Otherwise where did you come from?"

"My father and his slayer were bonded, but it was a lesser bond. She was trained by the council from a young age and was called at seventeen. I was three when he left to take up his post as active watcher and seven when he returned. He was never the same." he sighed. "He cared about his slayer and her death was hard. For four years they spent every day together fighting evil how could he not care? After that he found it hard to care about anyone, even his own son."

"Giles...I'm sorry." she whispered. "Is that why you never..."

"No." he shook his head. "It was actually because I didn't want to put family in danger. My father is of course disappointed that I haven't given him a grandson to carry on the duty. The family name will end with me."

"If you hadn't done that ritual you could've still had a family." she said blinking back tears. "Out of the two of us, you were the one who had a better shot at it and you threw that away for me."

"And I'd do the same all over again given the choice." he told her fondly. "The original point being that you and Angel...you know there is no chance for a future between you and if it hurts to still see him then you are the one with the power to change that."

"I was hoping you weren't going to say that." she sighed. "There's something I haven't told anyone...Faith...I saw her."

"Here? In Sunnydale?" he asked looking shocked.

"I saw her in an alley the other night. She didn't hang around to chat, she ran off." she said. "Sorry I didn't tell you sooner but..."

"You're still learning to trust me again." he finished for her. "I understand."

"Sorry." she shrugged sheepishly. "Do we have to tell Wesley?"

"We probably should, if we could get Faith to take a bond on free will it is far better than the alternative. No absolute rush though…after all you could have been mistaken perhaps so better to be sure." he told her seriously. "So patrol tonight was the usual?"

"Yeah, three vamps, all dust " she smiled.

"Anything unusual about them?" he asked.

"Um...actually the third one he had swords, two of 'em." she answered. "They don't normally have swords."

"No..." he agreed. "You should come by the library tomorrow and I'll look into it."

"Deal." she agreed. "See you tomorrow watcher-mine."

The trio of friends made their way into the library the next morning together.

"Miss Summers, good morning." a familiar voice greeted her.

"Hey Wesley has the Principle Snyder not asked you why you keep hanging around campus yet?" Buffy asked, heading straight past him to knock on Giles' office door.

"Um...well...no actually I-I..." he spluttered.

"Relax Wes, she's just tormenting you." Xander told the English man patting him on the shoulder.

"Because you know how she finds it fun?" Willow agreed.

Giles followed Buffy out of his office and headed to their usual table as she continued to describe the swords and the vampires clothing as best she could.

"Morning G-man." Xander greeted him cheerily.

"Morning Giles." Willow chimed in.

"Oh yes good morning." he nodded, focusing on a book he was looking through. "Did the swords look like these?"

"Yup, that's the ones." she nodded.

"El Eliminati..." he mused.

"Impossible, they were a fifteenth century duelist cult that has been wiped out for centuries." Wesley spoke up moving over to the pair.

"Not wiped out, I staked one last night." she insisted, narrowing her eyes at him. He visibly gulped.

"Well...I suppose it is possible that there are a few remaining members that escaped but I certainly wouldn't consider them a large threat." he told her.

"What do you know about them?" Giles asked the younger man.

"Well they were considered quite deadly in their day; of course their numbers dwindled when there was an increase in anti-vampire activity and of course a lot of pointless dueling. They became acolytes of a demon called Balthazar, who brought them to a new world, specifically here." he explained.

"You seem to know a lot about them." Giles commented. "Go ahead."

"Well, as long as I'm not stepping on any toes." he said uncertainly.

"No no, we're all quite used to working as a team here." he assured the younger man. "So why haven't we come across this cult before, I wonder?"

"Oh...right well, Balthazar is dead, I don't know the details on that I'm afraid and most of his followers wiped out over a century ago and the remaining members driven out of town, so I doubt they are any serious threat. There was an amulet of Balthazar's that would give him strength, if I had to guess I'd say that they were looking for it." he explained. "Since Balthazar himself is dead there isn't really anything they can do with the amulet but-"

"Best err on the side of caution and stop them getting it anyway, yes I agree." Giles nodded. "Would you please?"

"Grab the amulet, keep it from the bad guys got it." she nodded. "Where do I look?" She looked to Giles before both of them turned to look at Wesley expectantly.

"A wealthy landowner called Gleaves took it after Balthazar's death, it was reported to be buried with him." He told them.

"Great…grave robbing." She mumbled, before turning to Giles. "I'll fetch it on patrol tonight. In the mean time, history awaits, coming guys?"

Wesley stared after the youths that had just left in surprise.

"If she follows orders why has she been subjected to a level three bond?" he asked.

"Hm?" Giles blinked looking up from his book. "Oh...simply because she is untrained and therefore does things differently than the council would like. In my personal opinion she could be one of the best slayers we've ever had because of that very reason."

"How so?" Wesley frowned.

"Because she is connected to the world and the people in it, she truly believes in the fight. She doesn't just fight because she is ordered to, she fights because she knows it is the right thing to do, and that she is saving lives." he explained.

"But if she follows orders why a level three bond, I don't understand...I was led to believe that she was a rebellious hard-headed American teenager that refused her calling..." Wesley asked still looking confused.

"Because Quentin doesn't like her." Giles shrugged. "He doesn't like me, he doesn't like her. I agree a lower level bond would have been more than sufficient for her. She can be hard-headed at times but that has more to do with how things are done than the doing of them. She always does the right thing in the end, Faith however...the lines are indeed a little more blurry there."

"Yes, I've been told she has quite the reputation." the younger man nodded. "Once she has been captured and bonded she will be taken to a facility for retraining."

"But she isn't rogue yet, she can still be saved without being retrained. She makes some rash choices and acts out but I truly believe that she could make the right choices given the chance." Giles told him, before heading back to his office and leaving the young man to ponder that thought.

That evening found Buffy heading for the crypt that Wesley had told them about in search of the amulet. That was when she heard voices. She slipped inside the closest grave and hid until they had left. She counted at least six vampires, not great odds and there could've been more that she hadn't seen. She headed out after them and was surprised to hear the sounds of battle.

Sure enough she sees the vampires fighting none other than Faith. Without hesitating much she dove into the fight herself. Six to one weren't great odds but three to one was better.

"Hey B, long time no see." Faith greeted her as she staked a vampire behind her.

"Not really, I saw you the other day." She replied, flinging a stake at the vampire that she had flung against the crypt entrance. "Which is odd because I thought you'd skipped town?"

"I did, then I came back." Faith grunted staking the last one before looking around her. "Couldn't let you have all the fun could I?"

"One went that way." She said pointing ahead. "I think the one with the amulet ran."

"Amulet huh? Best fetch it then hadn't we?" Faith grinned before taking off. Not knowing what else to do she followed her.

"What are you doing?" she demanded, just as the other slayer was about to jump into an open manhole.

"Chase, duh."

"Dark enclosed space could be more vampires. Not smart." Buffy protested.

"Don't care." Faith shrugged. "Look, I'm going down there. If you don't want to come with…I might die."

With that Buffy found herself having no real choice but to follow the flash of dark hair that had just vanished below.

When eventually the two slayers returned to street level Buffy was drenched from her near drowning but carried the amulet at least and Faith was rather dusty and bruised.

"So you're back?" Buffy asked her.

"Sort of, I want in B. I want to help, you know I do but…those Watchers came after me so I had to book it." Faith explained.

"They bonded me to Giles in the end." Buffy admitted. "I…I've heard a lot about these bonding rituals Faith, you're going to have to either stay away for real or hand yourself over to Wesley."

"Wesley?" the dark haired girl frowned.

"Your new watcher." Buffy explained. "He's totally good looking but he's kinda British and a total wuss, he'd be terrified of you I think. I have no idea why they chose him, Giles says it's because Travers thinks Wesley will follow any orders he gives him. If they catch you here Faith, they will drug you or knock you out and force a bonding. From the ones I've read…the bonds that are forced read pretty much like horror stories. So if you want to stay and fight, you really need to come with me to Wesley and go willingly or begrudgingly but willingly. If not then for your sake run Faith, and this time really don't come back."

"I can't make a call like that tonight. I…they won't find me here for a while. You won't tattle on me will you?" Faith asked.

"I told Giles I thought I saw you but both of us decided that we won't tell Wesley yet. We were going to but then…we couldn't do it." She explained.

"But hey, you got lucky, you got Giles. He's pretty cool for a watcher. Pretty cute too." Faith grinned nudging her in the ribs.

"Cute isn't a word I'd use…" she replied. "But whilst the bonding thing is a drag, being allowed to keep Giles as my watcher is definitely a plus."

"Not cute?" Faith frowned. "So he's totally hot under all those clothes huh?" She smirked knowingly.

"Totally." Buffy admitted with a small smile.

Suddenly a familiar figure headed towards them. She tensed. Angel. Just what she needed to make this night more complicated.

"New threat in town." He told her.

"Guessing they're some duelist vamps after an amulet?" she asked.

"Yeah, you know then?" he asked looking surprised.

"Staked one last night and took the dead demon's amulet off a bunch tonight." She replied. "Got it covered."

"Not dead." Angel replied shaking his head.

"The demon isn't dead?" she asked frowning.

"No, he's not a huge threat exactly…unless he gets that amulet of course but he's got Giles." Angel told her.

"Where?" Buffy demanded, trying not to let the sudden fear in her break out.

"I didn't follow, I came straight to find you, there was too many of them for me to risk following." he told her. "If they want the amulet the chances are they're both alive still. They got the new guy too."

"Oh he's still alive alright." Buffy sighed. "He'd better stay that way."

"How do you know?" Faith asked.

"Because I'm still alive." Buffy replied grimly.

"You're bonded?" Angel guessed. Buffy saw the momentary flash of pain in his eyes and wondered how much he knew about slayer bonding. Did he realize from that one reference to her life depending on his that she had slept with Giles? She told herself it didn't matter; her and Angel didn't have a future so he would have to stomach the thought of her with someone else at some point.

"Yeah...happy birthday me." she muttered.

"You can use the bond to find him, I don't know how it works exactly but I've seen it done before." he told her. "You should be able to concentrate and hone on him through the bond."

"Well...it sounds better than searching warehouses aimlessly." she shrugged before closing her eyes. She tried to breathe and concentrate as she did when Giles got her to practice honing on vampires only this time she thought of him. She thought of his voice, she pictured him in her mind striding around the school library with a book in his hand. Then she felt him, a flash of warmth in her stomach that tugged backwards. "Giles..." Without another word she began to follow the feeling.

"Guess the hound dog trick is working." Faith commented before following the blonde slayer.

Author's Notes: So buffy's bond comes with a handy new skill, her and Angel are coming to terms with being over and Buffy and Giles seem to be closer than ever. We all know they'll rescue the watchers in the next chapter but the real question is will Faith ever hang around to become bonded to her watcher and what happens between buffy and giles when a woman hits on him? Also no I'm not going to be going over every episode in the series, a few maybe but just the ones that can fit in with my overall story plan.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Notes: Please no one beat me too hard for taking forever, I'm having serious laptop issues…in that it is dying a slow and painful death!

Disclaimer: Usual, I make no money and can't even pretend to own Buffy the franchise nor the characters etc etc etc.

Part Five

"So just how did two watchers manage to get captured so easily anyway?" Buffy asked as they headed out of the factory.

"You can blame captain courageous here for that one." Giles spoke up. "When they held a sword to his throat, I was tempted to just let them get on with it but I decided since he wasn't strictly evil, I probably should at least try not to get him killed faster."

"Then why on earth did you antagonize that vile creature?" Wesley asked in horror.

"Well by that point my choices were stall for time so that Buffy had time to reach us or stall for time before dying, so I didn't really see a downside." He murmured. "I'm sure there was a thank you for saving my skinny arse in there somewhere."

"W-well, your sword skills were rather impressive I must admit…" Wesley stammered.

"You were amazing Giles, unlike some." Buffy nodded to him. She looked back at Wesley trailing after them. "I thought Travers said you and the other guy were highly trained?"

"W-well...we were trained to watch primarily. And command the slayer to fulfil her duties of course." he spoke up. "I say, if you know where Faith is then you have a responsibility to the council to inform us of her whereabouts."

"Alright, she was here, now she's gone." Buffy told him flippantly. She stopped and turned on heel to face him defiantly. "Now you know what I know, she's in and out of town. I don't know where and I don't know why."

"But she came with you to rescue us?" he blinked in confusion.

"Yes, slaying is her job too remember. It's you and your stupid council buddies that keep running her off." she gritted out, folding her arms in front of her. "She came to save your ass and you still want to drag her back here to be bond to you like some pet for training."

"And how might I ask did you find us?" Wesley asked smugly, causing Buffy to pause and glance towards Giles, who looked at had curiously, when he noticed her hesitation. "I wonder where you would be Miss Summers were you and Mr Giles not bonded in such a way."

"I wouldn't be dead if that's what you mean because his life wouldn't be linked with mine." she replied.

"And Mr Giles? Where would he be?" Wesley asked.

"I'd find a way, the factories downtown are quite common spots for demon activity, I would've checked there. It may have taken a little longer but I'm pretty confident in my watcher's stalling abilities." she told him firmly.

"You used the bond to find me?" Giles asked. "I didn't show you that."

"Angel guessed about the bond and told me it was possible, I just had to wing it. Luckily it worked." she explained.

"I've seen it before." Angel commented from behind Wesley.

"You used the bond without training? Remarkable." the younger watcher commented. "I can't understand why Mr Travers had such issues with the relationship between you; it is certainly intriguing...worth studying I should say."

"Yes well, perhaps Buffy and I should go and discuss exactly that. Angel would you mind terribly escorting him home to see that he doesn't get into any more trouble?" he asked.

Once the other two were out of their sight they headed back towards the school as Giles wanted to lock up, since he hadn't been able to before they had been forcibly removed from the building.

"You did very well to use the bond in such a way without any training Buffy, thank you." He told her.

"No big." She shrugged. "I just honed, like you always say I should with the vamps and hey it's actually a real positive of this whole thing. At least now whenever my watcher gets taken hostage I can find him."

"Yes well, there are advantages to it." He agreed.

"Are there more neat tricks?" she asked as they entered the building.

"Undoubtedly." He nodded. "There are a few that I know of and more than likely a great many I don't. It'll take time and research and a bit of experimentation but I'm sure we will be able to find some other perks in it."

"Cool, like what?" she asked.

"Telepathy for one." He told her moving into his office to turn off the lights and lock up behind him. "If I practiced a bit I could use magic to speak directly to you into your mind but you aren't a magic user so you couldn't open a connection that way. The bond should allow us to communicate into one another's minds directly regardless of distance, with a great deal of practice of course."

"Of course." She muttered. "Of course to get the perks there has to be more work involved."

"Well I wouldn't be too disheartened, after all you didn't practice using it to find me, you just did it." He comforted her as they left the library again.

"I spoke to Faith about it earlier, not the extra gifts or anything…just about Wesley mostly." She told him. He didn't comment, instead he waited patiently for her to continue as they made their way to his car. "I told her to either turn herself over to Wesley directly soon or to run and never come back."

"And what did she say to that?" he asked neutrally.

"That she'd think about it." She shrugged. "She doesn't want to be bonded to Wesley, but she wants to help us. Isn't there any way we can convince the council to use a different bond?"

"Well…I can speak to Wesley and see if we can appeal I suppose." He replied uncertainly. "Let me drop you home."

They hadn't really talked for a few days, they'd been more open but they had glossed over their previous issues as they always did. She knew seeing Angel had unnerved him and she knew she should talk to him about it...didn't make it any easier to do though. She did manage to work up the nerve to go to his home.

"I didn't go looking for Angel by the way, he came and found me to tell me that you'd been demon-knapped." She blurted out as they headed inside.

"You told me, it's fine Buffy." he nodded, heading to the kitchen. "Tea?"

"Please." she agreed. "Giles, I mean it...I wouldn't have gotten him involved if he hadn't already been involved."

"Buffy, even I can understand the usefulness of having him around, an extra body in this fight is a good thing...but that doesn't mean I will ever be comfortable with it, it doesn't mean I have to like it and you have no right to ask that of me." he told her.

"And I wouldn't." she told him softly. "I...Giles let's just say I got a pretty clear understanding recently about exactly what you would do for me if I asked and it put a few things into perspective. If you were that angry about Angel being back...then he really hurt you, worse than I ever knew about. We never talked about it, not properly and we...Giles I'm sorry that I didn't tell you but it wasn't because I was scared you guys would send him away or anything...it was because I didn't know how. How could I tell someone I care about that the person who tortured him and killed his girlfriend is still around?"

"Then you should've sent him away." Giles said stiffly. "If you knew it was wrong, you shouldn't have been doing it."

"It wasn't that it was wrong." she protested. "Giles...he was Angel again, the Angel I sent to hell! I killed him! I sentenced him to like a hundred years of torture in a hell dimension and he came back half starved and insane. When I first found him..."

"You must have been thrilled." Giles muttered.

"Look, I know you're angry but we never talk about things and it's not always just me...you're not exactly share guy. I'm trying here so at least let me." she insisted. "I loved Angel when I killed him, part of me hated him too obviously...the Angelus part, the fact that he could switch back and forth like that... Anyway, I loved him so much...but I had to kill him. I had to. So I did, it hurt...between nearly losing you, killing Angel and my Mum kicking me out, I just...I needed to get away. Running away may not have been a great decision but...I grieved for Angel, I gradually opened up to the fact that he was dead and gone and believe it or not I started to get over him."

"Then he came back." he nodded.

"Yeah...and at first I was just shocked. I acted on instinct, getting him somewhere safe and bringing him some blood to stop him starving. He was half crazy Giles but he was still the good Angel, it was a tough call because it meant he was a risk but I didn't have it in me to kill him again." She whispered sadly. "So I hid him away for a bit to assess things...see if he stayed crazy or if he would get better. Then when he was almost normal I knew I had to tell you guys, but I didn't know how...I mean I'd have to explain that I hadn't said anything before…then Xander..."

"You kissed him Buffy." He said bluntly.

"Yes I did, twice actually. That time and another before that." she said just as bluntly in return. "I still cared about him, he was still gorgeous and I still loved him even if I was starting to let go. You're the adult here Giles, are you telling me that feelings for people just vanish instantly, just because they should? I...Angel and I are not back together, we know that we can't be together but that doesn't mean we have all the answers."

"I'm sorry Buffy." he said softly and he actually appeared to mean it. Not for Angel's sake, he didn't care about Angel...for hers.

"I told you the truth the other night; I can't be just friends with Angel while he's this close. I started to get over him, I need to finish getting over him before I can ever be friends." she said feeling tears prickling her eyes, then she shook her head. "I...I think Spike was right...Angel and I, we'll never be friends."

"Spike being right? Well that is a frightful notion...it isn't necessarily true either." he told her moving to sit next to her.

"He said we'd be um...loving each other and fighting each other until we died but that we'd never be friends." she said quietly.

"I take it those weren't his exact words?" he asked with an amused smirk.

"No, there was some mentioning of hating and shagging and quivering and killing and stuff but I'm sure you get the point." she admitted.

"Ah well, yes...in all likelihood as things are now that's probably true. If you never truly take the time to stop seeing someone as one thing, then you aren't likely to ever see them as anything else." he nodded, taking her hand in his and squeezing encouragingly. "But whilst you may not be friends now, say for example you and Angel were in a position to both go your separate ways and move on with other people when you felt ready. If you then saw each other again years later you would more than likely be able to become friends since you would have had time to fully get over your love for him."

"Which is what I wanted to achieve by not seeing him but you know, small town and I can't really leave it nor can I just go find another boyfriend because the minute I get um...yeah badness." she murmured. She looked up at him and stared into his eyes, those eyes that saw straight threw her. He knew her in and out. Why did she ever think she could lie to him? "I never fooled you at all did I? I told Angel...that I could fool you and the guys but I couldn't fool me but I didn't have you fooled at all."

"It's my job to know you, my duty, my calling as it were, is to know you, watch you. You could have a boyfriend, you could go out and have a nice time, you could even kiss him, it's only the final act that is a problem...no different from dating Angel really." he commented.

"That isn't fair to anyone though. I mean I'll consider it...you know like just that occasional one date thing but come on Giles...teenage boys are all about the smoochies leading to the...bedroom and you know what happens if I date a guy and then fall in love with him? Right back to square one except this guy won't go evil we'll just both get some kind of magical shock therapy that I so don't want to experience and ultimately…we'll be wanting something we can't have."

"All very true, and all things you will have to decide as the situations arise." he agreed. "Now, since we have quite exhausted the topic of Angel for tonight at least perhaps you could talk to me about how you found us the other day?" At this shift in topic he released her hand and moved to nurse his cup of tea again.

"Oh, it was kinda weird and cool." she grinned. "I'd been fighting off vamps with Faith and then Angel told us you'd been kidnapped. I said I knew you weren't dead at least because then I'd be dead, so Angel guessed about the bond. He said he'd seen it before and that I should be able to find you using the bond but he didn't know how it worked. So I improvised, I used my vamp senses as a watcher sense instead."

"You honed in on a vampire only you found me instead?" he asked looking confused.

"No, I remember the whole honing thing when I concentrate on that crampy uneasy feeling vampires give me, so instead I concentrated on you and then I felt it, followed it and bam there you were." She said enthusiastically. He picked up his glasses from the table where he had placed them earlier and put them back on.

"Fascinating, I only briefly read about the bond's abilities, in so much as I read about all the known abilities but not the how to or any in depth research of them." he said standing and heading to his bookcase. "Is it something you can always feel do you think or do you have to concentrate intensely?"

"In the middle, I don't feel it unless I think about it but now I know it's there and what it feels like I don't need to concentrate on it properly...but I might need to if you were further away like earlier. I didn't think about that, it could just be easier because you're right here."

"That's true but as you said, since you now know what it feels like it should be easier than the first time." he told her concentrating more on his book than her for a moment. When he looked up he met her eyes intently. "What did it feel like? In theory it should also work in reverse but it would help if I knew what I was searching for."

"It's um...it's like a pulse almost, especially when I g trying to find you. When I used it to find you it became an almost tugging feeling." she told him.

"What does it feel like right now?" he asked her. She closed her eyes before answering, concentrating on the bond that she now felt.

"Warm, like a little quiet pulse just here." she pointed around her abdomen vaguely. "It almost buzzes when you're this close, the further away you are the more it becomes more of a pulse. I think that's what I'm trying to say, I'm not word gal."

"No, you're doing fine. I imagine it's not the sort of thing that can easily be explained, as is the case with most supernatural things." he nodded. "Perhaps if you could go and stand outside I could try? I won't look which way you go, walk around a bit so that I don't know where you are."

She shrugged and headed out of the door before wandering around his courtyard, and then she changed her mind and left the courtyard before wandering a short way down the street.

Giles put the book on the coffee table before focusing his inner energies, once he centered himself he tried to focus on Buffy. He felt strange doing it but sure enough he began to feel a strange sensation in his stomach. It was a similar sensation to that which came with certain location spells which made sense, there was a slightly more intense and personal touch to this though. He felt a firmer tugging sensation, as if it were insistent that he move, so he did. He followed it until sure enough he saw Buffy stood at the end of the street waiting for him.

"Took you long enough." she grinned.

"Yes well, I don't have the added advantages of being a slayer." he murmured, nodding for her to follow him back.

"But you've got all that mystical knowledge and magicky stuff, surely it'd be easier for you." she argued.

"We can't all be good at everything Buffy, some things take longer than others to pick up." he replied. "At least this is an extremely useful skill to have. We shall have to practice using it, during the day time would be best so that we can minimize interruptions of the slaying variety."

"What like hide and seek?" she asked perkily.

"Something like that." he chuckled. "Still if you are late back from patrol or if there is a threat and we need to find you, it will be very useful."

"Just be careful where you find me, I don't fancy you busting into the girls locker room or anything next time the worlds ending." She replied picking up her coat from his couch.

"S-surely you wouldn't think I'd simply go waltzing in there?" he asked looking appalled. "I'd at least knock, or send Willow in there or something. Anyway, I'd like to think that the fate of the world would come above modesty, for either of us, if it was necessary."

"Been there, done that." she mumbled.

"Yes, well...on that note you should probably get at least part of a night's rest." he said clearly dismissing her.

"Night Giles." she called heading out the door.


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Notes: OK, so yeah, ya'll can beat me for taking so long but here it is chapter six.

Disclaimer: So the usual, I don't own Buffy, the characters or anything else recognizable and make zero money from writing this little fic of mine.

Chapter Six

Buffy took in her friends expression, Willow looked ready to burst right there in the corridor.

"Go on Will, tell me whatever it is that has you so excited."

"Well, you know how the council want Faith bonded to Wesley? We can trick them." Willow grinned. "I've found a temporary bond that allows the bonder to can drain a person's strength, it works on witches so it'll almost definitely work on a slayer, they can inflict pain on one another like some of the nasty bonds you mentioned too. The two people can also open themselves up to a telepathic link if they want and stuff. Basically it's a spell that an outside party can cast on two people to help form a partnership but it's temporary. We can do the spell bonding Faith and Wesley and then get the council to witness it working then once they stop watching us, bam presto we take the spell off and no more bond. The only catch is they both have to be willing and obviously we need to know that Wesley won't blab." Willow explained. "I'm just really sorry we couldn't have done this for you Buff."

"It's ok Will, I mean really...it was weird at first and I hated that it was forced but Giles and I get along fine, better than ever really and he's still my watcher not some stranger the council picked so that's good. Actually I'm still in the just grateful I still have Giles as my watcher phase full stop I think." Buffy replied, closing her locker.

"Giles!" Willow squeaked out in surprise. "Morning Giles, we were just talking about Faith and just you know Faith and Wesley and the whole bond thing? And Faith…"

"Will, you're making it sound like we were talking about something worse." Buffy glared at her friend.

"Were you?" He asked, joining them as they headed towards the library.

"Not really." She shrugged. "Nothing that shouldn't be discussed in the halls of sunnydale high is that's what you mean. I think you just took her by surprise."

They made their way into the library to find Wesley stood there waiting for them.

"Wesley, Wesley's here." Willow rambled looking at Buffy. "You didn't tell me Wesley was here."

"Is she alright?" Giles asked, raising his eyebrows at the red head's behavior.

"I'm starting to wonder if she had coffee this morning." She smiled. "Hey Wes, what brings you here this morning?"

"Just wanted to be updated on anything prominent." He replied politely. The two girls went and took a seat, Willow clutched onto her book tightly and looked between Buffy and Giles. Buffy noticed and realized what it was that her friend wanted to know.

"You said you didn't _want_ to force Faith into anything, I'm going to need you to spill it Wes." She spoke up. The Englishman looked rather startled and confused and looked to Giles for a translation.

"She wants to know what your situation is. She wants to know if she can trust you or whether you are completely under the council's control." He explained.

"Oh…" the younger man said quietly. "I-I wouldn't call it complete control precisely."

"He's not ready." Giles said.

"I say if there's something that the council needs to know then you have a duty as a watcher to share it." Wesley spoke up. Buffy decided to take things into her own hands.

"You said yourself, I follow orders right?" she asked.

"I…yes, I was curious as to why such a strong bond was required when you appear to follow orders and have the greater good in mind…" he nodded nervously as she approached him.

"Because to the council, I'm not a person. I'm not a teenage girl with friends, family, thoughts or feelings. I'm a tool. A weapon. Just a tool to be used and when I'm broken, I'm replaced. I'm lucky, I'm not one of those potentials that was just picked up and removed from her family to be trained into nothing more than an attack dog." She told him bluntly. "Because you know what? We had one of those. Kendra was a good slayer, did as her watcher told her, followed the rules; no life, no boys and followed the handbook. How long did she last on the hellmouth exactly?"

"W-well…that was just one case…" he spluttered defensively.

"If I didn't have any friends, I would be dead. Kendra dead. Your _only_ slayer would be Faith. A slayer that your council wants to capture and reprogram until she plays it your way. Who protects the hellmouth then? While she's being retrained? Way I see it…I died already, new slayer called. My job is done, so I think I'm doing your council a favor by continuing to do anything for you at all. Considering that two of the slayers that the council doesn't like are the two that are doing a pretty damn good job I think the council might want to rethink their priorities." She ranted. Giles touched her shoulder, drawing her attention back to the room rather than her speech.

"You died?" Wesley asked.

"How did you think two slayers got here man?" Giles asked shaking his head.

"W-well…we weren't told exactly. When Kendra was called we believed that Buffy had died but then we were told that she was alive and well so we assumed it was some anomaly due to the need for more than one slayer." He replied.

"Oh Quentin knew alright. Buffy went to face a master vampire, following a prophecy that she would face him and die. She died. He fed from her until she was unconscious and left her in a pool of water to drown. She was resuscitated by a teenage boy who selflessly went into the vampire's lair to save her and fortunately he did. I think it's becoming quite clear that your beloved council isn't telling you everything." Giles said, removing his glasses and heading into his office.

"Why would they lie?" Wesley asked quietly. He glanced at Buffy and Willow, who had remained in the room.

"Maybe because they don't want anyone asking questions. They don't want to face the fact that the council may have been wrong." She shrugged. "Giles and I…we do follow the council, up to a point but I'm not taking any orders blindly and Giles isn't either."

"What did you have in mind?" he asked.

"Are you willing to stand against your own Uncle is necessary?" Giles asked, returning from his office with not one but two cups of tea, one for himself and another for Wesley.

"I…as long as it's for the greater good of the world then I can do that." He nodded. Giles observed the younger man, it looked like Buffy had shaken him up a bit. "From what I've seen over the past two few months, Buffy follows her calling and does her job…she reports to you and I don't believe that such a severe bonding was necessary for her. I can agree that in this instance the council is wrong."

"Well that's a start." Buffy nodded looking rather pleased with herself. "Faith. Is a bit more of a liability I know, but she's not evil. She's a good slayer, she came to save your backside and has been coming and going to help me out. She doesn't need retraining. She needs a chance."

"She is an adult slayer, she requires a bond of some kind to ground her." He countered.

"I have to agree with him." Giles spoke up. "But I believe that a standard bond should be the only bond ever used."

"If the council wouldn't agree to that with Buffy, they most certainly won't for Faith." The younger watcher said shaking his head. "I'm sorry but I can't see a way out of this. I can refuse but all that will do is end with me losing my position and another watcher coming to do the same."

"We sort of have a plan. Well…Willow does." Buffy said. Giles glanced at the two girls in surprise.

"And when were you planning on sharing this plan of yours?" he asked seriously.

"Will only found it last night, she told me this morning." Buffy shrugged. "Will, wanna explain it for us?"

"Wesley, do you promise we can trust you with this idea? I mean you can always turn it down and then it's like it was never mentioned right?" Willow asked shyly.

"I think I can agree to that at least." He nodded.

"I found a temporary bonding spell. It has the same affects as some of the ones the council have suggested for Faith. Basically I could do the spell and be the middle party, you can do a demonstration for the council that Faith is under your control, although in reality you can each control one another." Willow explained.

"How do you know Faith won't use that bond to control me and get away?" he asked.

"That's the outside party's job. They can dissolve the bond at any time and also change it, allow all the powers one way or the other. If I think you're trying to control Faith when you shouldn't…I can just poof, bond gone. If I think Faith's out of control I can shift all the control to you so that she can't fight back and you can take her in to the council." She said, handing Giles the book. "We were sort of hoping that we could leave you guys under this bond for about six months in place of the bond that would be renewed every three months and then get you to request to the council that a normal basic bond is used because she's been good and followed orders."

"It sounds workable." Giles nodded.

"I vote we do it then shake the hell out of the council." Buffy said grimly.

"I would certainly be willing to try it this way first." Wesley nodded. "But will Faith?"

"I guess the next time she comes this way we'll find out." Buffy said. "Gotta be better then the alternative. Come on Will, English awaits."

Giles went to answer the knock at his door, his eyes moved to the broadsword in the umbrella stand where he always kept it. It was always handy to have a weapon within easy reach in this town.

"Oh, Buffy, come in." He greeted her. "Is there a problem?"

"Nope, not a problem." She replied. "Just giving you the scoop. I saw Faith on patrol tonight. I filled her in."

"And what was her response?" He asked her, gesturing to the couch for her to take a seat. "Would you like a beverage of any kind?"

"Just water would be good, thanks." She replied. "Faith said she would think about it and then if all is a go she'll meet us at the library one morning. She didn't say which morning but since we're there most mornings I guess it doesn't matter."

"Did she seem willing?" He asked.

"Well, she liked the idea that Willow could take the bond away if Wesley turns evil on us. Its hard to tell though, she's always been a bit more of a work alone kinda gal." Buffy shrugged.

"So Willow has been researching our bond." He commented after a moment of silence.

"Not ours, I told a little white lie and said I didn't really know much about ours but gave her the name of the one Wesley was told to use for Faith." She explained. "I was going to tell her but...it's easy to keep that night separate in my head if no one else knows, at least until I finish high school. I mean, I'm pretty sure if the wrong person heard it could cost your job eighteen or not."

"Quite so." He nodded. "That was probably a wise move, for now at least. Although I'm sure Willow could be trusted not to alert any authorities."

"I know that, but you never know whose listening and like I said for the moment I'm pretty much trying to put it outta my mind until things get back to normal." She said. "And it's not just my personal stuff I'd be telling either, it's yours too so...I figured we decide later what and when to tell the others."

"Alright, so besides that, patrol was the usual?" He asked, changing the subject. She nodded and placed her now empty glass on the table.

"I should probably head home before Mom worries." She told him, getting to her feet and heading to the door. "Night Giles."

"Goodnight." He told her, as she shut the door behind her. He stared out the window as she walked past it before turning to get himself ready for bed. Despite the extreme nature of the bond, it had seemingly not damaged their relationship at all. He thought back to the conversation that he had heard this morning between Buffy and Willow and smiled, she was right, they were just lucky that they were still in this together.


End file.
